There has been an increase in fake licences, for example, on 02 December 2022, Benjamin Peter John Head of Bournemouth was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court. He pleaded guilty at Poole Magistrates’ Court on 17 June 2022 to providing and supplying illegal security at various venues in Bournemouth. The court fined him £500 and ordered him to pay court costs of £1500 and a victim surcharge of £50. An untrained door supervisor can be very dangerous, putting the wellbeing of the public and other security operatives at risk. Using a counterfeit SIA Badge is an offence under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 and can come with a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a potential fine of £5,000.
Leisuresec have procedures in place to prevent this from happening, but vigilance is key. You can spot some fakes by the design, below are two designs, the left is the current design, whereas the right was the design issued by the SIA until June 2016, and there have been many other designs in the past.
Another way to check is via the licence number, once a licence has been issued, the number can be searched and verified by the SIA’s Register of Licence Holders (services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/rolh).
If you are still unsure please report any concerns to us immediately.
